• As Wase, Betara, Gagdi split lawmakers-elect
Ahead of the June 13 inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, plot by some members elected on the platform of opposition parties to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives might have hit the rocks
The move, Saturday Sun gathered, is buoyed by the majority stake of the opposition parties in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
The outcome of the recent supplementary elections swelled the number of the elected members of opposition parties in the 10th House of Representatives to 182, one vote more than the statutory benchmark 181 votes required to elect a Speaker
Since the introduction of the presidential system of government in 1979, no ruling party in Nigeria has failed to secure a majority in the National Assembly.
According to available records, APC won over 176 seats in the House of Representatives, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 118 seats. The Labour Party (LP) has 35 seats, with the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) winning 19 seats. All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won five seats, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and ADC African Democratic Congress (ADC) have two seats each. Young Progressives Party (YPP) has a single seat.
According to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, every elected member has the statutory right to run for any leadership position, subject to the standing orders of the House.
A fifth term member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the lower chamber’s Committee on Public Accounts, Oluwole Oke, said the opposition has a comfortable majority to produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said members-elect of the various opposition parties are meeting regularly, revealing that the law doesn’t forbid them from producing the Speaker.
Similarly, a member-elect, Afam Victor Ogene, said every member is entitled to run for any position in the House of Representatives
“Besides the issue of ranking, every member is entitled to run for the office of Speaker, regardless of political party affiliation.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) or any political party for that matter, reserves the right to regale itself with talks about micro-zoning leadership positions in the National Assembly. But the overriding question remains, are such fanciful engagements binding on the generality of members-elect? The answer today, tomorrow and until our current constitution is altered to reflect that desire is a big No.
“Issues surrounding this all-important question is easily resolved, in the case of the House of Representatives, by Section 50(1)(b), to wit:” There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
“While zoning is permitted, as an intra-party solution to the sharing of political offices, seeking to enforce such on the generality of members would be tantamount to affronting Section 50 of the Nigerian constitution,” he said.
Saturday Sun learnt that with 12 members contesting for the Speakership position and APC’s inability to resolve the issue of zoning, the ruling party might remain divided until inauguration day.
However, plans by the opposition lawmakers-elect to leverage on their number might have hit the rocks soon following fresh divisions in their ranks.
Saturday Sun gathered that the opposition lawmakers-elect, who had resolved to work together in the run-up to the June inauguration of the 10th assembly, are now sharply divided over who to support for the Speakership of the House in the next dispensation.
It was also gathered that while some of the opposition lawmakers-elect are torn among the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase; chairman House Committee on Appropriations, Muktar Betara and the chairman, House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, some others have resolved to support the choice of the ruling APC for the speakership position.
Apart from Wase, Betara, and Gadgi, others interested in the speakership of the 10th House of Representatives include chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Benjamin Kalu; Mariam Onuoha; chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Abass Tajudeen and former chairman, House Committee on National Intelligence, Aminu Jaji.
Others are chairman, House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Abdulrahern Olawuyi; Yalleman Makki, as well as the chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli.
Saturday Sun gathered that the majority gladiators in the Speakership contest have infiltrated the ranks of the opposition to advance their aspiration.
Also, some of the opposition lawmakers-elect elect have equally different bipartisan camps, pushing for one idea or the other, as it concerns the speakership contest.
Consequently, there are strong indications that the opposition may not be able to speak with one voice, as regards the choice of the leadership of the House, as individual lawmakers-elect have pitched their tents with different speakership candidates.
A source, who confirmed to Saturday Sun that there is a crack among the opposition lawmakers-elect, said: “That is certain. There is no agreement among them. That is the truth. I know that some of them are with Betara. Some are with Wase. Others are with Gagdi.”
Opposition lawmakers-elect, who style themselves as the “Greater Majority” had after a meeting last month, resolved to work together to advance their interest, and as well as deploy their numbers to influence the choice of the leadership of the House in the 10th assembly. The group, after a meeting last week, said it will explore the possibility of one of them contesting for the speakership seat.
However, one of the lawmakers, who does not want his name in print, told Saturday Sun, that the opposition lawmakers-elect were actually not going to field a candidate for the Speakership seat. He explained that the whole idea was to put a strong front, so as to increase their bargaining power.
According to him, “What they were trying to do is to come out strong and make a good case for themselves. They were actually not going to field any candidate among themselves. But they were giving that impression so that anybody that is in contention will now have to reckon with them.”
He added that with the number of members elected on the platform of the opposition political parties, the opposition lawmakers-elect were determined not only to have their say, “they were likely going to have their way, meaning that where the opposition throws its weight among the major contenders, that is likely going to be the winner.”
However, he noted that the plan of the opposition lawmakers-elect have seemingly crashed, judging by recent developments. The lawmaker explained that things would have worked more smoothly for the opposition had all the opposition lawmakers-elect belonged to one political party.
According to him, with the multiplicity of opposition parties in the emerging minority caucus, different political parties, especially the NNPP, which has some form of affinity with the APC, are not likely to join ranks against the interest of the ruling party.
He pointed out that one of the bipartisan pressure group led by the chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Bello Kumo and leader of the PDP caucus, Chinda, are determined to frustrate any plot against the interest of the APC in the speakership.
“Now, you know there are groups. The Joint Task, there is also Greater majority, as well as other groups. I am sure you saw the statement from the Joint Task co-signed by Kumo and Chinda. And they are committed. Opposition members, especially from South South, that I know, are very committed to that movement. Their motivation is to ensure that the House does not go against the decision of the ruling party,” he stated.
(The Sun)
